I have an Early 2015 13" MacBook Air with Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB. I'm trying to figure out what its capabilities are in terms of connecting two external monitors.

First, if I just used the two external monitors and did not use the MacBook Air's built-in monitor, what is the maximum resolution I could run both external monitors at simultaneously? For example, could they both do 1080p resolution, or perhaps higher? And does it matter whether I use the built-in monitor? (I've scoured the internet looking for information about this but haven't found anything so far!)

Second, is there a device I can use just for connecting two external monitors via DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort to the MacBook Air's Thunderbolt 2 port, other than an expensive general purpose Thunderbolt 2 dock like oneofthese? I should add that I'm not interested in using devices that connect to a USB 3 port and use a DisplayLink driver.

3 Answers
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After doing quite a bit of searching around, I eventually figured out that the easiest and cheapest way to accomplish this would be to use the StarTech brand Thunderbolt 2 Dual-Monitor Docking Station. Even with a MacBook Air, you can still plug in two external monitors simultaneously. I found reports that it works as advertised. Note that I have not purchased one and tried it myself, though.

The Apple technical specifications frequently don't include all the capabilities of a device, though. For example, it is (allegedly) possible to connect two external monitors to a Macbook Air via its thunderbolt 2 port by daisy-chaining thunderbolt 2 devices (meaning you need either two thunderbolt 2 docks or one of the monitors needs to be a thunderbolt monitor). But I don't know what the limitations of such a setup are, or if there's a less expensive way to accomplish it! However if the MacBook Air can support a single 4K monitor, it can surely handle two 1080p monitors.
– GuyGizmoMay 18 '18 at 19:24

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However if the MacBook Air can support a single 4K monitor, it can surely handle two 1080p monitors. That's not the way it works. It comes down to bandwidth (display port channels) supplied and the MBA simply doesn't have the bandwidth to daisy chain two monitors. It can support one external monitor, period.
– AllanMay 18 '18 at 19:27

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I've always found a few reports by users saying they were able to get two external displays working via Thunderbolt daisy-chaining.
– GuyGizmoMay 18 '18 at 19:42

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That's a 2012 article (6 years out of date). Daisy chaining is supposed to be supported but it isn't. See: apple.stackexchange.com/a/259308/119271 where uses have tested and reported back that it doesn't work.
– AllanMay 18 '18 at 19:48

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So if your research shows yes, then go do it...
– Solar MikeMay 18 '18 at 20:28

Sharing this in case anyone finds it useful. You can get 2 thunderbolt displays, plug the thunderbolt end from one of them into the other thunderbolt display's port, then plug that display's thunderbolt end into the MacBook Air's thunderbolt 2 port.